Alkass Digital
In his debut season as the coach of Al Duhail, Hernan Crespo achieved remarkable success, guiding the Qatari club to a trio of titles: the Qatar Stars League, the Qatar Cup, and the Ooredoo Cup. Despite facing setbacks such as a defeat to Saudi team Al Hilal in the AFC Champions League semi-final and an exit from the Amir Cup quarter-finals, Crespo’s tenure proved fruitful for the Red Knights.
Given the achievements and positive trajectory, Al Duhail’s management made the decision to extend Hernan Crespo’s contract for an additional year, encompassing the upcoming season. Crespo, who has previously coached in various countries including Italy, Argentina, and Brazil, is now focused on replicating or exceeding last year’s accomplishments with Al Duhail.
However, Crespo acknowledges that the road ahead won’t be without challenges. The 48-year-old recognizes the strengthened rosters of other teams in the Qatar Stars League, particularly Al Duhail’s arch rivals, Al Sadd. As a result, he anticipates a competitive and demanding environment as he strives to lead his team to continued success.
“This will be a very, very difficult season. I think for us, the last season was amazing. We reached the semi-final of the AFC Champions League. We won three trophies then. It’s not easy to repeat. We try to be competitive again to try to fight in all of the competitions,” the Argentinian said ahead of Duhail’s opening Expo Stars League match against Al Ahli which will take place at the Al Thumama Stadium.
However, Crespo was confident of the team’s success as he said the team’s pre-season preparations have been perfect. “The preparation has been perfect. We are only waiting to complete our roster with another foreign professional. But anyway, we are ready for the first game of the league, which will be very, very tough this time,” he added.
For Duhail, Al Sadd, a record 16-time winners of QSL, will once again be their main rivals for all the trophies this season while Amir Cup champions and league runners-up Al Arabi could also pose a tough challenge. But Crespo chose to focus on his team and urged his players to be competitive like last season.
“Our challenge is to try to be competitive. Logically we try to win the trophies, but the most important thing is to be competitive. After that, in football, everything can happen. Sometimes it has happened that we won three titles like last year, sometimes not. You never know. But I think, the way to respect our passion, respect our professionalism is to try to work hard. After that the rest is all a consequence,” he said.
“We are very proud to have hosted the FIFA World Cup and now we are very proud to host the AFC Asian Cup (in January 2024). Our idea is to try to help the national team. And after that, we will try to do our best. We prepare the players to become better players. I think representing the national team is great. We are very proud of that and we try to give to the national team a lot of players,” said Crespo.